Daniel Herbert
· Professor; Department of Film, Television, and MediaVerifiedUniversity of Michigan · Film, Television, and Media Studies
Active 1988–2026
About
Daniel Herbert is a scholar of film and media with particular interests in the media industries and their impact on culture. He holds a Ph.D. in Critical Studies from the University of Southern California, an M.A. in Critical Studies from USC, and a B.A. in Media Arts from the University of New Mexico. Herbert is the author, co-author, and co-editor of several books and numerous essays. His most recent book, Maverick Movies: New Line Cinema and the Transformation of American Film (2023), tells the story of New Line Cinema's evolution from distributing John Waters's films to achieving global success with the Lord of the Rings franchise. His first book, Videoland: Movie Culture at the American Video Store (2014), examines how video rental stores altered movie culture from the 1970s through the 2000s and was named an Outstanding Academic Title by CHOICE. Herbert's second book, Film Remakes and Franchises (2017), provides an accessible overview of the history, theory, and practices of film remakes and media franchises. He also co-authored Media Industry Studies (2020), which offers a critical overview of the subfield of media industry studies. Currently, Herbert is conducting research on the brick-and-mortar retailing of physical media in the post-digital media context, focusing on concepts of 'coolness' in record stores and comic shops, and examining how artificial intelligence impacts media workers in Latvia. He mentors undergraduate and graduate students and teaches courses such as Adaptations, Analyzing Media Industries, The Business of Hollywood, The Cinema of Wes Anderson, and Film History.
Research topics
- Sociology
- Political Science
- Computer Science
- Media studies
- Social Science
- Law
- Computer Security
- Visual arts
- Art history
- Business
- Advertising
- World Wide Web
- Engineering ethics
- Public relations
- Engineering
- Epistemology
- Art
Selected publications
John Dewey's <i>Human Nature and Conduct</i>
Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2026-01-30
bookThis handbook introduces Human Nature and Conduct, John Dewey's groundbreaking book about moral psychology and moral philosophy, to a new generation. In his classic work, Dewey redefined impulse, habit, and intelligence: not as isolated individual traits, but as socially conditioned factors shaping human thought and action. His ultimate insight is that growth is the only moral good, and that morality is, at its core, a matter of education. Featuring contributions by leading international scholars, this volume presents expert insights into Dewey's unique psychological framework and its far-reaching impact on moral philosophy and education. The book also tackles contemporary moral dilemmas, from environmental protection and healthcare rationing to sexual liberation and religious transformation, demonstrating how Dewey's thought remains as vital today as ever.
Impulse, Sublimation, and Scientific Morality
Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2026-01-30
book-chapter1st authorCorresponding“Upscale” Cinema: Fine Line Features and the Indie Boom of the 1990s
2023-11-21
book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorrespondingLuminos is University of California Press’ Open Access publishing program for monographs. With the same high standards for selection, peer review, production and marketing as our traditional program, Luminos is a transformative model, built as a partnership where costs and benefits are shared.
2023-05-02
book-chapter1st authorCorrespondingThis chapter provides an industrial and discursive analysis of My Own Private Idaho. This film was defined as both “indie” and “queer,” and this essay shows how these labels and associations came about through industrial practices and the film’s circulation through culture. In addition to detailing how the film’s distributor, Fine Line Features, distributed the film, this essay also shows the importance of auteurs and stars to the production, distribution, and marketing of indie cinema.
Book Review: Johnny Walker, <i>Rewind, Replay: Britain and the Video Boom, 1978–92</i>
European Journal of Cultural Studies · 2023-10-26
article1st authorCorresponding“Take a Film Where It Will Be Most Appreciated”: The First Decade of New Line Cinema
2023-11-21
book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorrespondingLuminos is University of California Press’ Open Access publishing program for monographs. With the same high standards for selection, peer review, production and marketing as our traditional program, Luminos is a transformative model, built as a partnership where costs and benefits are shared.
“So-Called Ancillary Markets”: New Line Takes the Margins to the Mainstream
2023-11-21
book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorrespondingLuminos is University of California Press’ Open Access publishing program for monographs. With the same high standards for selection, peer review, production and marketing as our traditional program, Luminos is a transformative model, built as a partnership where costs and benefits are shared.
Introduction: New Line Cinema and the Shape of the Modern Movie Business
2023-11-21
book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorrespondingLuminos is University of California Press’ Open Access publishing program for monographs. With the same high standards for selection, peer review, production and marketing as our traditional program, Luminos is a transformative model, built as a partnership where costs and benefits are shared.
Maverick Movies: New Line Cinema and the Transformation of American Film
2023 · 1 citations
1st authorCorresponding- Sociology
- Political Science
- Art
Maverick Movies tells the improbable story of New Line Cinema, a company that cut a remarkable path through the American film industry and movie culture. Founded in 1967 as an art film distributor, New Line made a small fortune running John Waters’s Pink Flamingos at midnight screenings in the 1970s and found reliable returns with the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise in the 1980s. By 2001, the company competed with the major Hollywood studios and reached global box office success with the Lord of the Rings franchise. Blurring boundaries between high and low culture, between independent film and Hollywood, and between the margins and the mainstream, New Line Cinema epitomizes Hollywood’s shift in focus from the mass audience fostered by the classic studios to the multitude of niche audiences sought today.
One Franchise to Rule Them All: New Line and The Lord of the Rings
2023-11-21
book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorrespondingLuminos is University of California Press’ Open Access publishing program for monographs. With the same high standards for selection, peer review, production and marketing as our traditional program, Luminos is a transformative model, built as a partnership where costs and benefits are shared.
Frequent coauthors
- 34 shared
Zombie Cinema
Brunswick (United States)
- 34 shared
L Private Eyes
Rutgers Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
- 34 shared
Roll Rock
Brunswick (United States)
- 34 shared
Barry Grant
Rutgers Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
- 34 shared
Stephen Prince
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
- 34 shared
Disney Wills
Rutgers Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
- 34 shared
John Movies
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
- 34 shared
Gwendolyn Audrey Foster
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Awards & honors
- 2026 LSA Michigan Humanities Award
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